Metatarsal gauge



Febres, 1939. WMSCHOLL 2,148,650

METATARSAL GAUGE Filed Jan. 9, 1936 Patented Feb. l28, 1939 UNITED s-T'A'res PATENT GF'FIICE 8 Claims.

ThisV invention relates. toimprovements in a met-atarsal gaugev` highly desirable for usey in` measuringv a toot and,- locating a spot in a shoefory disposition of 'a foot'corrective appliance, such, for

example, aa a metatarsal pad; althoughy theinvention may have other uses-and' purposes as will be apparent toone skilledin the art. Frequently, foot correction appliances, suchas padsy for' supporting or' strengthening the metals] tarsalarchofthe toot, aresecured in; any suitable mannert to the insole of a shoe. There are variances ineachl individual@ foot, and likewise variances; inthelccation of' the affliction and in the proper disposition of: the correctiveappliance' for treating a particular aiilictioni Accordingly, it is desirabletohave means for accurately ascertaining the precise location or the corrective appliance Within a shoe; lf am`- aware that heretofore' gauges. have been. provided for indicating the 29% location of the-corrective appliance relative to aparticular foot; However; these formerly known gauges; were not' suiiiciently'flexible, in every instance of." Whicli- I am aware,v so that the gauge could be usedfwitha minimum of= effort and'suf'- 2@ i'lcient rapidity, andfsorthat thesame gauge could befutilized with both left and'rightl feet. In addition; it is: desirablezto -havea gauge requiring no extraneous. operations andi requiring' nothing else to; bev incorporated in order to=properly mark the 3Q', location offa. corrective appliance in a shoe.

` W-ithxtheforegoingin mind; it is `anobject ofr the present invention` toA provide a metatarsal gaugezapplicable to ahuman foot todetermine the proper setting', andi their applicableto the insole 3m ot a'. shoe wherein'n the gauge itself withno other means1maybeutilizedj to properly mark the location;A forthe subsequent positioning off the correctveeppliance.

Another object of the invention' isthe provision 4m ofi a gauge of` the character described* herein.. c which;isfeconomical:tomanufacture, and which,

50; takeathef proper7 measurement andf accurately.l indicateimalshoef the location for the corrective appliance, g with'ga simple; manipulation of' the gauge-itself'and withoutthe use of any extraneous apparatus.

55 yIt is a further aim of the invention to provide a gaugeof the charactert described: wherein the adjustable indicating element carries thereupon the complete means-.for marking the insole of a shoe toy designate the-locationfor a corrective appliance toproperly adust a particular foot.

While some of the more salient features, characteristi'cs'- andV advantages of the` presen-t invention have been abovey pointed out,r others' will become apparent from the following disclosures taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, inwhich:

Figure 1L isfa bottom planviewcfa metatarsa-l gauge embodying principles of the present invention, showingl the same inA operative position on a human foot diagrammatically illustrated;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the same gauge showing thesamein position in a shoe and: indicating how the locationn of? the corrective appliance is marked inithe shoeby' thegauge;

Figure 3 is a topplan View' of the gaugeitsel-, indicating various manipulations or adjustments of the gauge'in dot-ted lines;

Fig-ure 4 is.anenlarged central vertical sectional view through` the gauge and Figure 5 is a transverse verticalI sectional View through thegaugev itself, taken substantially as indicated bytheline V--V 'off Figure y2.

'As shown onl thex drawing:

In the illustrated embodiment off thepresem invention, a device is shownfor indicatingV the properdisposition of afoot corrective appliance inthe form` ot a' metatarsal padf for strengthening; reshaping or'- otherwise aiding they metatarsal` re-v gionof the-foot; This deviceincludes arelativelyflat measuringl rod 6* having a curved' upwardly ,extending heel-engagingpart 'lfpivotedto the rod as indicated at ar', thepivot'al connection 9 being such thatthere-issufficient frictiontomaintain a relative position of-'tleI partsY 6 andf 'l in' ordinary usage, Without binding, so aslto permit free relative adjustmentof-these parts.r

Thefmeasuringfrod: Sicarrieson each.v side ofthe forward. portion; thereofanindicating: scale Siwith. any.y suitable.y indicia. Slidableconxtherodzs: is a. sleeve1|0 engaging-1 the rodiwith sulcient` friction to maintain a position of adjustment duringzordinary usage, but insuilicient tmprevent: theeasy readjustment thereof. Thev forwardendf of the sleeve is provided-.wither depending prong Hex-r tending downwardly, from. the underside, of.` the sleeve so as not to contact the, footwhile the initial' measurement. is being taken., This` prong.` isy relatively sharp so thatit' may be used to score the insole of a shoe, as indicated by the line l2 in Figure 2.

An indicating element I3 in substantially the form of a metatarsal pad or button is pivoted, as at I4 in Figure 4, to the upper portion of the sleeve I0, this pivotal connection also providing sufficient friction to maintain a position of adjustment in normal usage but insuicient to prevent ready readjustment.

The element I3 may be made of any suitable material, such as metal or rubber, while the remainder of the gauge is preferably made of metal, the rod 6 being sufciently flexible to conform to the longitudinal arch of a foot when placed thereagainst, as indicated in Figure 1, so that-,a true and accurate indication may be given.

In operation, the present invention may be used with great facility, rapidity and accuracy. The particular location of the foot affliction is ascertained in the usual manner. .Thenit is simply necessary to take the gauge, place it against the sole of the foot as indicated in Figure 1,

with the heel-engaging .part 7l extending upwardly over the heel, andadjust the element I3 until it is seated in; the proper position relative to the aiiliction.v Scale readings may be obtained, if so desired, and the device is next inverted and laid in the shoe of the patient, as indicated in Figure 2. By holding they heel-engaging part I tightly in position, it is a simple expedient for the operator to press down upon the element I3 and the rod I6y and oscillate the forward portion of the rod on the aforesaid pivot 8 so that the prong II will score the insole of the shoe as indicated by the line I2, and vthus mark the position for the forward edge of a'metatarsal pad or other correction applianceto be attached inside the shoe.

Frequently, metatarsal pads are disposed ina shoe with the longitudinal axis of the pad at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the shoe. The clement I3 is accordingly pivotally mounted, and it may be pivoted to one-side or Ithe other, as may iit the individual case. Such pivoting from one side to the other,V asindicatedby the dotted lines in Figure 3, also renders the same gauge effective for use in connection with both right and left feet. Accordingly, the flexibility of the gauge permits almost any foot corrective appliance of the characterof a metatarsal pad to be located with great accuracy ina shoe.A

From the foregoing, it is apparent that I have provided a gauge for locating the proper position for foot corrective appliances within a shoe, which gauge is simple in construction, economical to manufacture, and may be usedY with great facility and accuracy. The gauge is light in construction, includes adjustments foryvarious locations of affliction,the same gauge may be used for both right ,and left feet,r and .the construction, though simple, is very durable,

I am awarethat many changes may be made.

and numerous details of construction may be varied through a wide range without d-eparting from the principles of this invention, and I, therefore, do not purposelimiting the patent granted hereon otherwise thanY is necessitated bythe prior art.

I claim as my invention:

l. In a gauge of the character described, a rod,

a heel engaging "part'pivotedpto said rod, the pivotal connection being sufficiently tight to frictionally hold said rodand Vsaid part in relative positions'v of adjustment, andan element in simucorrection appliance pivoted to saidV sleeve so asy to be adjustable in a plane parallel to that of the rod.

3. In a gauge of the character described, a rod,

a heel-engaging element pivoted to vsaid rod, means slidably associated with said rod for movement towards and away from said element, and a substantially egg-shaped member in simulation of a corrective pad for the metatarsal arch of a foot pivotally carried Vby said means.

4. In a gauge of the character described, a rod, a heel-engaging element pivoted to said rod, means slidably associated with said rod for Ymovement towards and away from said element, and a substantially egg-,shaped member in simulation of a corrective pad for the metatarsalarch of a foot pivotally carried by said means, and means connecting the relative parts in such aV manner as to be frictionally held in relative positions of adjustment against disarrangement .during usage.

5. In a gauge of the character described, a body member, a heel-engaging part pivoted to said member, the pivotal connection being suciently tight to frictionally hold said member and said part in relative positions of adjustment, an element in simulation of a foot correction appliance adjustably carried by said'body member, and marking means associated with said element to indicate the position of a foot corrective appliance in an article of footwear.

6. In a gauge of the character described, a body member, an indicating element shaped with one end smaller than the other slidably and pivotally connected with said body-member, Ysaid element being slidable lengthwise of the body member and pivotal relativelyy to the body member to selectively position the small end of the element on either side. of the axis of the body member to adapt the gauge for use with both right and left articles of footwear.

'7. A gauge for transferring to a foot appliance a point located by first applying the gauge to the human foot, said gaugecomprising an element adapted to engage the heel of a foot,-a body member pivoted to said.element by `a connection providing for relative ymovement of said. element and .saidy body member toy adjusted position in the application ofthe gauge. ,toA the foot with said position when the gauge isjdisengaged from the foot to transfer the located point to afoot appliance, and an indicating elementcooperable with said body member.

8. A gauge for transferring to a shoea point. located by rst applying the gauge to the humanV foot, said gauge comprising a body member', an.

indicating `member carried by said bodyzmember, a marking element carried by one of said members, means whereby'said markingl element is adapted to be swung to mark'V a line onthe sole 'of a shoe, said means including an element pivotally connecte'dto oneenol of said body member and'shaped to .dene a heel engagingelement when the'gauge is applied` totl'1e humanfoot the gaugeis applied within'a shoe. Y l l and to define Va heel engaging-Y top member whenV 

